I am reissuing my personal directive. Given the direction of the European security environment since then, I believe it is appropriate to bring it back and once again ask the public to exercise discretion regarding NATO and allied military activity.
I rarely step outside ordinary reporting to directly ask something of the public. When I do, I try to have a very good reason.
Please do not publish or amplify real time information that could reveal the locations, movements, timing, logistics, readiness, or other operational details of NATO or allied military forces.
If you witness something personally, the fact that you can see it does not mean it needs to be placed online immediately.
To be absolutely clear, I am not warning that war between NATO and Russia is imminent, nor should this statement be interpreted as such.
This is simply prudent operational security during a European security environment that has continued moving in the wrong direction.
Almost a year ago I asked people to choose discretion when it counts.
Today, I am asking again.
You lose nothing by waiting before publishing sensitive military information.
A hostile intelligence service may gain something if you do not.
If you find something, PLEASE private message Director, Deputy Director, or Me. We will not publicize info but it is greatly appreciated for threat analysis.
I rarely step outside ordinary reporting to directly ask something of the public. When I do, I try to have a very good reason.
Please do not publish or amplify real time information that could reveal the locations, movements, timing, logistics, readiness, or other operational details of NATO or allied military forces.
If you witness something personally, the fact that you can see it does not mean it needs to be placed online immediately.
To be absolutely clear, I am not warning that war between NATO and Russia is imminent, nor should this statement be interpreted as such.
This is simply prudent operational security during a European security environment that has continued moving in the wrong direction.
Almost a year ago I asked people to choose discretion when it counts.
Today, I am asking again.
You lose nothing by waiting before publishing sensitive military information.
A hostile intelligence service may gain something if you do not.
If you find something, PLEASE private message Director, Deputy Director, or Me. We will not publicize info but it is greatly appreciated for threat analysis.
Out of respect for operational security and the safety of allied personnel and civilians, I’m asking everyone to refrain from posting real time, hyper specific locations or movements of NATO/EU forces during any period for the foreseeable future while Russia is probing or testing alliance/NATO responses (snap drills, border provocations, intercepts, etc.).
This is a voluntary request, not a moderation/staff rule. If information is public, DWS policy allows posting for analysis.
I’m asking, personally, that we choose discretion when it comes to live positions and movements so we aren’t amplifying targeting data for hostile actors. (Same principle we used in the Indo-Pak threads.)
DO NOT SHARE EXEPT WITH STAFF OR ME. At least within the first 48 hours:
If you must share, share later, do a delay + blur where possible in ANY photos:
- Exact convoy locations, identifiable landmarks, road/rail checkpoints, unit patches, or bridge crossings.
- Tail numbers, hex codes, gates/ETDs/ATDs, ramp spots, or live refuel tracks of military aircraft.
- Port entries/exits for naval units while they are underway or in a sensitive posture.
- Base ingress/egress timings, railcar counts, or logistics choke points that reveal patterns.
What to do instead:
- Delay uploads by hours (preferably 12–24h).
- Scrub faces, license plates, tail numbers, and precise map pins.
- Aggregate (“brigade-sized movement in eastern Poland”) instead of street-level detail.
- When you see something potentially relevant, PM it to staff privately (or to me). It will be used for escalation analysis and not posted as live targeting data.
Treat social video of “troop movements” as unreliable until confirmed, miscaptioning and reuse of old footage are rampant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why this matters
Russia and any competent adversary harvests open posts for patterns. We don’t need to give them free ISR by broadcasting exact positions in the moment.
In surges, forums can lag or go down, having vetted private contacts and restrained posting habits keeps our signal to noise high and our community safe minded.
If you come across sensitive, time-critical details:
- Do not post in a thread.
- Private message staff (or me) instead. Your tip will be routed for analysis without compromising OPSEC.
